Volcano offers view of rolling, spattering lava

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HONOLULU (AP) — The lava lake at the summit Kilauea has been rising in recent days, offering visitors a dramatic view of rolling, spattering hot rock.

HONOLULU (AP) — The lava lake at the summit Kilauea has been rising in recent days, offering visitors a dramatic view of rolling, spattering hot rock.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory research scientist Don Swanson said Monday scientists don’t know exactly why the lava is this high.

It’s relatively unusual, though. Lava overflowed onto the crater floor in May of last year, raising the rim that confines the lake by another 30 feet. Before last year, it was last this high in the 1974 and in the late 1960s.

Swanson said the lake is particularly colorful to watch at night from the Jaggar Museum at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.